believed to have been owned by Major-General Sir Alexander Dicksonthe rectangular top above one long and two short frieze drawers, over a central panelled door to the kneehole recess, enclosing one shelf, flanked by eight short graduating drawers, with a conforming opposing side, on plinth bases, 102cm wide x 50.5cm deep x 74cm high, (40" wide x 19.5" deep x 29" high)

Footnotes

Provenance:

By repute Sir Alexander Dickson, Royal Artillery

The current vendor is a relation to the late Sir Alexander Dickson, who acquired the desk from their brother through the late Miss P.M Burnaby a cousin, who was the Great, Great Granddaughter of Sir Alexander Dickson.

It is believed that in a probate valuation in 1904 for Sir Collingwood Dickson, the son of Sir Alexander, in which a piece of mahogany camp furniture is mentioned is the desk been sold.

Major-General Sir Alexander Dickson (1777-1840) was a distinguished British artillery officer who fought at many battles during the Napoleonic Wars and of whose abilities the Duke of Wellington had the highest opinion. Indeed he made Dickson the effective commander of the whole of the artillery of the allied army during the latter part of the Peninsular War, in charge of some 8,000 men.He played a key role in the successful Siege of San Sebastian in 1813, and was present on the staff of the Royal Artillery at the battles of Quatre Bras and Waterloo in 1815. For his efforts he was awarded the Knights Grand cross of the Order of the Bath.

He was one of the earliest fellows of the Royal Geographical Society and his diaries, which he kept during the Peninsular campaign, were the main source of information used in Duncan's History of the Royal Artillery. He was the father of Sir Collingwood Dickson, who won a VC at Sebastopol on the 17th October 1854.

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